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' No. 627,!88. Patentd June 20, I899.

L. J. HAM.

HARNESS ATTACHMENT.

(Application filed Jan. 7, 1899.)

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WITNESSES INVENTOR i gmgfvifg UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS J. HAM, OF OARLISLE, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO DAVID HOWARD,

OF SAME PLACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 627,188, dated June 20, 1899. Application filed January 7, 1899 Serial No. 701,448. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LEWIS J. HAM, a resident of Carlisle, in the county of Nicholas and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Harness Attachments; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the artto which it appertains to make and use the same. I

This invention relates to an improvement in harness attachments, and more particularly to means for connecting the holdback or breeching straps with the shafts or thills, the objects of the invention being to dispense with the loops sometimes employed for preventing movement of the holdback -straps on the shafts and also to avoid the necessity for wrapping said straps around the shafts when they are too long for a particular horse and to provide an attaching device for the holdbackstraps to the shafts or thills which can be readily adjusted for different sizes of horses and which shall be a permanent fixture to the shafts and not liable to be stolen, as some- .times happens with leather loops fastened to a View showing the attachment applied to a shaft or thill. Fig. 2 is a sectional View. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are detail views.

A represents a shaft or thill, to the under side of which a bar or plate 1, preferably of wood, is securely fastened. The bar or plate 1 is made in its upper face with a longitudinal groove 2, in which a slide 3 is located. The slide is made with a series of perforations 4, and at one end it is provided with a metal staple or loop 5, which projects downwardly through an elongated slot 6 in the bar or plate 1 for the accommodation of the holdbackstrap, which is passed through it. If desired, the strap may be attached to the shaft or thill by merely passing it through the staple or loop 5, or the strap may be passed through the staple or loop and then wound once around the shaft before attaching its end to the breechin g. The plate or bar 1 is provided with lugs or cars 7, between which a thumb-lever 8 is pivotally supported at a point between its ends. One end of the lever 8 is provided with apin 9,-wl1ich passes loosely through a hole in the bar or plate 1 and is adapted to enter one of the perforations in the slide 3, whereby to re tain said slide and the metal staple or loop secured thereto at any desired adjustment. Thus it will be seen that the point of attachment of the holdback-strap to the shaft or thill can be readily adjusted to suit the size of any particular horse and that when adjusted it will be held in a fixed position by the engagement of the pin 9 with the slide 3. In order to causethe pin to be automatically pressed upwardly into the perforated slide and to retain it normally so engaged with the slide, a spring 10 is employed. This spring may be secured to pins or screws 11 at one end of the bar or plate 1 and made to bear at its end 12 against the lever 8, so as to force the end thereof carrying the pin 9 upwardly.

My improvements are simple in construc tion and effectual in all respects in the per formance of their functions.

Slight changes might be made in the details of construction of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof or limiting its scope, and hence I do not wish to limit myself to the precise details herein set forth.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In aharness attachment,the combination with a stationary bar or base having an elongated opening therein, of a slide supported by said bar or base, a loop or staple projecting from said slide and through the elongated opening in the base, and a spring-pressed latch pivotally attached to the stationary base and adapted to engage the slide, substantially as set forth.

2. In aharness attachment,the combination with a bar or base having a groove and an elongated s1ot,of a slide mounted in the groove in the bar or base and having a series of perforations or sockets, a loop or staple secured to said slide and projecting through said slot in the bar or base, a spring-pressed lever pivoted to the bar or base, and a pin projecting from one end of said lever, passing through the bar or base and adapted to enter one of the perforations in the slide, whereby to hold said slide and loop or staple in the position to which they may be adjusted, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with a bar or base having a longitudinal groove and a longitudinal elongated slot, of a slide in the groove and provided with a series of sockets or perforations, a loop or staple secured to said slot and projecting through the elongated slot in the bar or base, a lever pivoted between its ends to the bar or base, a pin projecting from one end of said lever and adapted to enter one of the sockets or perforations in the slide, and a 

